This is my old blog. You can find my current blog at stephanieperkins.com.

4.23.2009

Reality Check. (Drat.)

Thank you to everyone -- EVERYONE -- who commented here (and on Facebook and Twitter) in the last week. You've made me so happy! I look forward to helping celebrate all of your good news.

Also, HUGE THANKS to Amy, Kiersten, Laini, and Natalie for sharing my news on THEIR blogs! I was so flattered and surprised. It never fails to amaze me: (A) How supportive the children's writing community is, and (B) How awesome my friends are.

And speaking of awesome friends and good news, major congratulations to Katie Anderson, winner of the logline contest on Query Tracker! Here's her winning pitch:

"When you look into someone's eyes, you see his soul, but when sixteen year old Emerson Taylor kisses their lips, she sees their pasts."

A KISSING BOOK! WOOO HOOOOOO!!!

Ah hem. Moving on . . .

So it was bound to happen. But that didn't mean I expected it to happen this quickly. You know what I'm talking about.

THE PANIC.

Panic of the OH #$*%, I HAVE TO WRITE ANOTHER NOVEL variety. It hit me Tuesday, after hitching a ride on the tail of the EEK-I'M-GONNA-BE-PUBLISHED wave.

No. "Hit" is too kind a verb. It pretty much slammed me across the face like a sack of anvils.

I have to write another book, you guys.

And I want to. I really really want to. And I have a Fair Chunk already written. But . . . ANOTHER BOOK. Like, one that has a beginning, a middle, AND an end. Something that makes sense and makes people happy and makes people want to read another (a third!) novel by me.

HOW DO I DO IT?

How did I do it? The first time? How ON EARTH did I go from all of those lame embarrassing scenes and big ugly gaps to something worth reading? Something shiny and romantic? Something I was proud to put my name on? It seems too much, too BIG. Which makes me feelsmall.

But. I'm dealing.

How, you may ask? Why, the same way I always deal! By shamelessly begging my friends for help.

I offer proof in the form of a chat transcript. It could have been from any day this week, as I've had the exact same conversation with Kiersten White over and over, again and again:

ILUVBOYS: I'm . . . frozen.RHYMESWITHBEERSTEN: Stop thinking big picture, finished book. Write it the way you wrote the last one.

ILUVBOYS: Petrified.RHYMESWITHBEERSTEN: Scene by scene.ILUVBOYS: Terrified.RHYMESWITHBEERSTEN:One sentence at a time.ILUVBOYS: Horrified.RHYMESWITHBEERSTEN: You'll fix it later. It's just a draft.ILUVBOYS: All of those other bad things that end with "fied."RHYMESWITHBEERSTEN: No one will ever see this draft!ILUVBOYS: WHAT DO I DO?RHYMESWITHBEERSTEN: Stop chatting. Go upstairs. And write.ILUVBOYS: NO REALLY . . . WHAT DO I DO???RHYMESWITHBEERSTEN: Write.ILUVBOYS: NO. REALLY. WHAT? HOW???RHYMESWITHBEERSTEN: Now.ILUVBOYS: NORHYMESWITHBEERSTEN: Stand up.ILUVBOYS: NO NO NORHYMESWITHBEERSTEN:Feet. Stairs. Climb.ILUVBOYS: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

[long pause]RHYMESWITHBEERSTEN: Will you do it for PRIZES?

[long pause]ILUVBOYS: Prizes?

So yeah. It took bribery. Can't say I'm proud, but how lucky am I to have someone willing to bribe me back into writing?! (Kiersten, I luffffff you.) And if you're wondering about my PRIZES they are SECRET and you'll just have to believe me that THEY WERE AWESOME.

Oh, fine.

Here's one prize. But don't say I never did anything for you.

Such extreme Scottishness that it CRASHED MY COMPUTER. Honestly! Halfway through, my Mac just . . . shut down. Which it never ever ever does. I think it fainted in ecstasy.

Speaking of, pardon the following tangent. Don't you love it when you re-discover a favorite song? This morning Pulp's "Like a Friend" played on my iPod, and I didn't even remember putting it on there! And it's so good.

That part, 1:43 minutes into it? INSANE.

Plus, Jarvis Cocker is an HBM in a total total for reals kinda way.

You're welcome.

[Stephanie digs out all of her Pulp albums and forgets about blogging.]

If it makes you feel better, I'm acting that way about Current Project and I don't even have a book deal! It's just sooo hard going from something really polished and close to finished to something new and rough and hate-worthy. Oh, yes, I said it. Stupid Current Project, being all first draft-y. How dare it!

JARVIS!!! I love Jarvis (which you already knew) and that totally made my day. Did I mention that I got to see him perform at Cochella a few years back? Epic. Dina was there too, but we didn't know each other was there.

My parents asked me the other day "so, has Stephanie started to freak out that she has another book to write?" I guess I know the answer to that now....

Steph, you can totally do it. I too have been in that exact spot -- you're right on schedule to be freaking out :-) I can't wait to *meet* your new characters and I have no doubts that this book will be at least as awesome as the last!

(And that Jarvis Cocker guy looks kind of like a gay Jude Law. And gay, bored Jude Law :-)

And when I am stuck I head straight for Laini's NOT FOR ROBOTS blog! She has truly been my inspiration for assuring me that I CAN do it! Go read it lickedy split! RIGHT NOW! (And I think Laini has written more "process" stuff on her regular blog. Tell her to get it all on NFR :-)

And Perk, THANK YOU SO MUCH for your shout out! And more importantly, your vote of confidence :-) I have my fingers crossed!

Hi, there! I'm Steph, and I wrote ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS, LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR, and ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. I also edited the romantic holiday anthology MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME and the upcoming SUMMER DAYS & SUMMER NIGHTS.